Tribbing & Frotting

I can pretty much guarantee that you haven’t heard of these terms before, except for may be dry humping, although I know it has many other names amongst young people.

Basically all these terms describes a type of sex where you and your partner rub your bits together, genitals to genitals. This can be a relatively innocent activity, as simply part of making out, as a couple rub their bodies against each other whilst fully clothed. It’s a kind of simulated sex, as both partners grind against each other – this is quite often known as dry sex or dry humping.

Tribadism or tribbingis a term which is specifically associated with sex between two women and can range from one partner rubbing her vulva up against her partner’s thigh, or both partners doing so at the same time, with their legs intertwined; or the two girls can lie back with their legs scissored together, enabling them to rub their bits together, vulva to vulva – hence the term scissor sisters.

Frott or Frottingis exactly the same except it usually refers to two men rubbing their penis’s together, as they grind against each other. This activity also has many other slag names, the best of which is probably cock fencing…

With all of these activities there is no actual penetration – they simply refer to rubbing all of the sensitive areas of each partner’s genitals against each other. As a result they are a relatively safe activity, without the risk of pregnancy (especially if practiced by same-sex partners obviously), however, can still pose a risk for STI transmission.

Dry sex, is often an early form of sexual activity for many teenagers as they kiss and fool around with each other. As with manual sex it doesn’t involve taking your clothes of so it reduces the chances of being caught with your pants down, and also doesn’t involve the anxiety and insecurities of getting naked with a partner – making it quite a good place to start.

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